Reviews & Press

From Dr. Sari Locker: Sex Educator and TV Personality
sarilocker.com

In the 90s, Ioved being a guest on Ricki’s daytime talk show. She
was always a generous host, and it was fun to be a part of her show
— especially when Ricki would ask a provocative question and the
whole audience would chant, “Go Ricki. Go Ricki.” I’ve also long
been a fan of her acting, and I’m looking forward to seeing her in
her newest role as host of VH1’s Charm School (premiering May 11).
Yet, it’s the work she does to support women’s choices about
childbirth that is most extraordinary. Ricki is truly dedicated to
teaching women about childbirth and about how to be advocates for
our health and wellbeing. Her new book Your Best Birth, and her
phenomenal must-see documentary The Business of Being Born, are
also an exploration of her own development as a woman and mother.
In both the book and the documentary, Ricki and co-author Abby
detail the births of their children, providing a personal, moving
angle to their well researched and thoughtful work. Then they
explain how a woman can decide to have a home birth, natural child
birth in a hospital or birthing center, or if epidural, induction,
medical intervention, or cesarean section could be necessary. Ricki
and Abby give women an understanding of the natural birth process,
as well as the medical system, including why our country has such a
high rate of cesarean sections and infant mortality. Their new book
gives women the necessary information to make an informed choice
about their birth experience. No matter what stage you are in the
cycle of life — pregnant, soon-to-be, been-there-done-that, or
who-knows-when-or-if — this book is a wonderful read. Ricki
empowers us all to take responsibility for the choices we make
about how we bring children into the world. Pick up Your Best Birth
on amazon.com. Oh, and if you haven’t yet seen The Business of
Being Born, you simply must! It’s available on amazon as a DVD or
video-on-demand. You will be inspired by Ricki’s work. I know I
am.

Ricki Lake Wants Women to Take Control of Childbirth by Susan
Wagner May 6th 2009 11:00AM from: parentdish.com

If you're a 40-something parent, you probably remember Ricki Lake
from the 1988 John Waters film Hairspray, where she played
"Pleasantly Plump" Tracy Turnblad, who used her fame to speak out
against segregation. These days, there's nothing plump about Lake,
but she's still taking advantage of the spotlight to call attention
to what she believes in. In 2008, Lake teamed with director Abby
Epstein for the release of The Business of Being Born, a
documentary about childbirth in America. The film "explores the
history of obstetrics, the history and function of Midwives, and
how many common medical practices may be doing new mothers more
harm than good." Lake drew widespread attention when the film was
released because it includes footage of her son's home birth. Lake,
who has two children with ex-husband Rob Sussman, gave birth to her
first child in a hospital. After his arrival, Lake says, "I felt
like I was the only woman to ever give birth." She started
researching childbirth and learned that the medicalized hospital
birth that most of us take for granted is not the only way to have
a baby. "I felt a calling," she says, "I was obsessed with
midwives." Instead of becoming a midwife, though, Lake opted for
making a film about birth, and about the choices women can -- and,
Lake says, should -- be making when they have a baby. The success
of the film has lead to a book, Your Best Birth, as well as a
social networking site for women, MyBestBirth.com. Lake
acknowledges that the choice to have a baby at home is
controversial. "Most women will not feel safe giving birth outside
of a hospital," she says. She is less interested in pushing a
specific agenda -- she doesn't believe, for example, that hospital
births are bad -- than she is in encouraging women to make informed
choices about how their children are born. "I did tons of research"
into home birth, Lake says, and "fought friends and family who
didn't support my decision." She laughs. "And there were a lot of
them." For Lake, giving birth at home meant that she was able to be
in control small, simple things during her labor. She was able to
decide what positions she labored in, who would be with her, what
music and lighting she wanted. She was able to make her own choices
about eating. "When you're giving birth, it's a normal process;
it's a huge energy-consuming process," she says. "I didn't want to
be somewhere where I could only have ice chips." Lake says that she
was "transformed" by the experience of having children. "I love
that I get to be their mom," she says of her sons. "I love that the
work that I get to do now stems from them coming into the world.
Their births -- both the hospital birth and the home birth --- got
me interested in this subject matter." Her sons, she says, caused
her to make the film and write the follow-up book, and she is
clearly grateful for that opportunity. Lake is awed by other
Hollywood working moms, with busy film schedules. "I don't
understand how they do it," she says respectfully. "I understand
how hard it is to be a single mom." Lake has made a choice not to
do movies that will take her away from home for long stretches of
time. "I'm missing a few ball games" to promote her book, she says,
"and that sucks." Like any other working parent, she is striving to
balance her career with her role as mom, and it has taken her work
in a completely different direction. Her job, she says, comes
second to her sons' needs. "I don't believe in taking the kids out
of school and out of their social circle for my work." Lake's work
as a birthing advocate has changed other parts of her life as well.
She recently turned 40, and has a whole new attitude about her
body. "I feel great," she says. "I've maintained my weight loss,
and shopping is fun again. I'm a normal person now. I can't say I
always love my body, but I work out all the time and I love how
strong I am." She sees a clear connection between her comfort with
her physical self and her passion about birth: "I don't think I
could be doing this work without working through the issues of body
image. I love the fact that I can hike for four miles and the fact
that I can give birth on my own terms." For Lake, her choices about
how to bring her children into the world have changed the way she
sees her own place in that world. Ricki Lake is very clear about
why her choice to give birth at home was the best choice for her;
she is also very clear that what she wants to see is not a movement
of women giving birth in their bathtubs, but instead a change in
the way we think about birth. She wants more women to think through
their choices and to put themselves in a position to have ideal
birth experience. "Women should be connected to their birth
experience," Lake says, "not cut off from it or numbed to it." She
is hopeful that her advocacy will change the way women -- and
doctors -- think about the business of giving birth. Source